Most people hiring business book ghostwriters have zero experience in the publishing industry. All they know is they want to publish a book, and they want a professional writer to write it for them.
They have no idea what it costs, how to vet ghostwriters, or what it takes to publish their book once it’s written.
As a result, many of them hire the wrong ghostwriter, spend tens of thousands of dollars (or more), and still end up with a bad book.
The good news? Learning how to have your book successfully ghostwritten and published isn’t that hard.
You just need to educate yourself on the basics:
- The price you should expect to pay for a quality book.
- The time and effort needed to find and hire the right ghostwriter (and how to do this effectively).
- The costs and process to publish your book once it’s written.
If you don’t learn these fundamentals, there’s a good chance you’ll waste a lot of time and money (and not get what you want out of publishing your own book).
Below I share 4 must-read articles for anyone hiring a business book ghostwriter. If you read these, you’ll be better off than 99% of first-time Authors.
I also cover 3 client success stories from business Authors who used our book ghostwriting service, Scribe Professional, and saw massive increases in their business as a result.
Note: We’ve worked with over 2,000 nonfiction Authors, including bestselling Authors like David Goggins and Tiffany Haddish. We make the self-publishing process simple so you don’t have to worry about writing or publishing your book. Schedule a consult with one of our Author Strategists to learn more. Or, continue reading to learn about our service at the bottom of this post.
Read These 4 Articles Before You Hire a Business Book Ghostwriter
The following articles explain what to expect throughout the process of finding, hiring, and working with a ghostwriter. They’ll also help you understand the process and costs associated with publishing your book.
1) How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Ghostwriter for a Nonfiction Book?
If you invest the time and money to hire the right ghostwriter, authoring a book can be great for your business. But most people have no idea how much it will cost. The truth is, cost varies widely depending on the quality of the ghostwriter. And there are additional, indirect costs to take into account too.
In this article, you’ll learn:
The current market rates of most ghostwriters
If you can’t afford to spend 5 figures then you shouldn’t be hiring a ghostwriter. I outline what you should expect to get for your money within 3 price bands for ghostwriters: Low Quality (up to $24,000); Good Quality ($25,000 – $75,000); and Best Quality ($100,000 to $250,000+).
How ghostwriters charge for their services
It’s important to know upfront how your ghostwriter expects to be paid. Most ghostwriters charge a flat fee, usually in installments. I also explain why you need to avoid ghostwriters who charge hourly or by the word.
The indirect costs of hiring a ghostwriter
Finding, vetting and negotiating with your ghostwriter takes tens of hours (assuming you find the right ghostwriter the first time). I walk you through the opportunity costs involved with this process, as well as the costs associated with self-publishing (which isn’t included in most book writing services).
How to negotiate working terms with a ghostwriter
Negotiating terms is a critical stage of the ghostwriting process. I explain the 7 steps involved (eg. setting payment terms, non-disclosure agreements, etc.), each of which should be included in your contract.
Click here to read the whole article.
2) How to Find a Ghostwriter
It takes time and effort to find and hire the right ghostwriter (if you decide to hire them on your own).
You should expect to spend 25 to 50+ hours to find one who is legitimate, available, and feels like the right fit. Without the proper time investment, you’ll likely hire a ghostwriter who’s a bad fit, waste your money, and end up with a terrible book.
In this article, you’ll learn:
Where to find ghostwriters
There’s no single place to find vetted, professional writers for a ghostwriting project. I’ll show you the 3 most common channels where people search for ghostwriters online, explain how to approach using each, and point out the potential pitfalls to be aware of.
How to tell if a ghostwriter is good
Whichever channel you choose to find your ghostwriter, I’ll walk you through the 3 areas to focus on when vetting a ghostwriter.
How to tell if a ghostwriter is a good fit for you
This is the most crucial step. You need to decide if their working habits and writing style suit you. And, most importantly, do they get you and understand what you’re trying to get across to your audience?
The process for hiring a ghostwriter
When you’ve chosen a ghostwriter to hire, you need to determine how you’ll work together and what the deliverables will be.
Click here to read the whole article.
3) How Much Does It Cost to Publish a Book?
Ghostwriting services don’t include publishing. In addition to paying a ghostwriter, you’ll need to hire additional freelancers and services to edit, design, print, and distribute your book.
Professional quality publishing costs around $13,000 when you do it yourself. But like ghostwriting, there are additional costs of time and effort to consider when managing the publishing process yourself.
In this article, you’ll learn:
The opportunity costs in publishing
Just like finding and hiring a ghostwriter on your own, managing the self-publishing process yourself has significant opportunity costs. The alternative is to use a done-for-you publishing service like Scribe. I help you work through which path is right for you based on how much money you make and the value of your time.
Why professional quality publishing is essential
Publishing quality is particularly important when you publish a business book. If it’s produced cheaply, it’s more likely to hurt your business than help.
Detailed breakdown of all publishing costs
I break down each stage of the publishing process with pricing categories based on low, acceptable, high, and best quality.
Click here to read the whole article.
4) Book Publishing Process for Aspiring Nonfiction Authors
For most Authors, self-publishing (versus traditional publishing) is the best way to publish their book. But most Authors don’t know this when they’re starting out.
This post explains the difference between the two, and walks you step by step through the self-publishing process.
In this article, you’ll learn:
The key differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing
It’s important to have a basic understanding of the 2 main types of publishing so you know where to start with becoming a published Author. I explain the key differences and why self-publishing is the way to go for most business book Authors.
The specific types of people who should self-publish vs. traditionally publish
While a traditional publisher is ideal for a small number of people (I explain who in the post), for everyone else, self-publishing is the best route. This includes business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, thought leaders, and more.
The steps it takes to self-publish a nonfiction book (including the costs associated with each)
Self-publishing is a long and complicated process with a ton of moving parts. I break this down into 5 simplified steps to give you an idea of what’s involved.
3 Business Authors Who’ve Seen Massive ROI from Scribe’s Ghostwriting Service
We created Scribe’s ghostwriting services to help top-level professionals write and publish their books.
Below are 3 examples of published Authors we’ve guided through the process, from ghostwriting to publication. Each of them have seen significant gains in their business from their book.
Michael Mogill’s Book Brought Him Six-Figure Clients and $5 Million in New Business within Two Years
Michael Mogill wanted to create a go-to marketing book to help small firms in the highly competitive legal industry. But he knew writing wasn’t his top skill, and he didn’t know how the publishing process worked.
Once he started working with Scribe, Michael’s fear about whether he had enough to say quickly disappeared. It turned out he had enough content for three books. Our team of experts guided him through the process and produced a book in Michael’s unique voice.
After publishing The Game Changing Attorney, impressive results came quickly. A phone call from an attorney resulted in a six-figure contract the next day. Michael now uses his book as his business card. He doesn’t take on any clients who haven’t read it. In the two years since the book was published, he estimates that he’s earned over $5 million from his readers.
To read more about Michael’s story click here.
How Melissa Gonzalez Used a Book to Raise Her Visibility, Create Authority, and Double Her Business
While Melissa Gonzalez was great at her job as an innovator in the pop-up retail space, she wasn’t attracting enough new clients. People wanted her advice and asked her to write a book—but she didn’t have the time or know how to write it.
I met Melissa at an entrepreneur dinner and she challenged me to help her. The result? We created Scribe and published Melissa’s book. We took Melissa’s ideas and translated them into her voice. We used the best book cover designer and produced a beautiful book that she could be proud of.
The book has had a massive impact on Melissa’s business. Incoming leads tripled in a year, and as she became an established authority, high-paying speaking requests came flooding in. She’s also become the key spokesperson on pop-ups in the media and is a regular radio show contributor.
To read more about Melissa’s story click here.
How Kirk Drake Used His Book to Help Reinvent the Credit Union Industry (and Create a Million Dollar Business in the Process)
Kirk Drake realized that the traditional credit union industry was very slow in keeping up with technology. He wanted to show these businesses what to do and how to do it (and he wanted to do it quickly). He decided that a book would be the best platform.
He came across Scribe at a conference and learned that his book could be published in less than a year. Working with Scribe also meant that he could spend 100 hours writing his book with our team rather than 1,000 hours if he did it on his own. The saving on his time alone was a no-brainer.
The book was published in time to help the credit union industry make important changes. Kirk has created a 1500-strong Facebook Group and an email list of 13,000 credit union executives who he mentors.
He’s signed contracts for 15 keynotes where he sells hundreds of books. All this, plus consultancy fees, means that he now runs a $1 million per year business, all generated from his book.
To read more about Kirk’s story click here.
Is Scribe Professional for You?
If you want to hire a high-quality professional ghostwriter for your business book—without the hassle and uncertainty of doing it on your own—we can guide you through the entire publishing process.
We designed Scribe Professional for executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, coaches, and subject matter experts. Our Authors typically want to grow their business, get more clients, or make an impact with their books.
Scribe Professional allows you to do all these things and more.
How Are Scribe’s Ghostwriting Services Different?
Our service includes publishing (most ghostwriter services do not). We handle every part of the process from editing, to book cover design and layout, to printing and distribution. This is a completely separate service in most cases.
We don’t just hire good ghostwriters. We hire the best ghostwriters. Each has a minimum of 10 years of writing experience and has published at least 3 non-fiction books of their own. Our acceptance rate is less than 1% (that’s lower than Harvard or Stanford).
And, you don’t just get a ghostwriter. You get an entire team to help you—a publishing manager, editor, designer, and marketing strategist.
We also handle the promotion of your book to help you receive early reviews.
You know what you’re paying for upfront. Plus, you don’t have to worry about getting ripped off because we offer a money back guarantee.
How Scribe’s Ghostwriting Services Work
We have 2 levels of business book ghostwriting services. Unlike most other ghostwriting services, both include the full self-publishing process.
Scribe Professional is our classic ghostwriting service for Authors looking to create their business book with a world-class ghostwriter for a reasonable price.
Scribe Pro costs $48,000 ($4,800/month for 10 months) and includes everything you need to get your book out into the world:
- Validation, structuring, and positioning of your book idea.
- Comprehensive interviews to get your ideas out of your head and into a book (in your words and your voice).
- A completed book manuscript reviewed by expert book editors.
- A beautifully designed book cover and interior layout.
- Full coordination of all book publishing details (ISBN, author bio, description, etc.).
- An eBook format of your book.
- Full printing services, with the ability to order unlimited copies at production cost (with an initial 100-copy gift from us).
- Full distribution through major online retailers (Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, iBooks).
- 100% ownership of rights and royalties.
- First week promotions to help you become an Amazon Bestseller (including a scheduled podcast interview and more).
- Marketing strategy and consultation by our experienced team of book marketers.
Scribe Elite is for business leaders who want our top level writing service. It provides increased customization and convenience for Authors with extremely busy schedules.
Scribe Elite guarantees you work with an award-winning ghostwriter (i.e. they’ve written or edited WSJ, USA Today or New York Times bestsellers).
Prices start at $135,000. You get everything in the Scribe Professional package plus:
- You’re guaranteed to be paired with an award-winning ghostwriter who will fly to interview you in person.
- A complete PR and media campaign starting prior to launch and lasting a minimum of 3 months.
- Audiobook creation using a professional voice actor and top of the line studio production.
You can spend a ton of money and time trying to find a ghostwriter to write your business book for you. But they won’t help you through the publishing process and you won’t be guaranteed a good book at the end of it. Or, you can let Scribe do it all for you.
To learn more, check out our ghostwriting service Scribe Professional, Scribe Elite, or schedule a consult to speak with our team.
